Karen Greenwood Henke is a professional writer and speaker on emerging technologies and their role in education. She is also the founder of Grant Wrangler, a free grants and awards listing service.
Teachers are starting to give up the cell phone battle. Think about it. Kids walk into a classroom with a powerful, tiny communication device and are told to turn it off and put it away. So the devices go under desks and into pockets where students continue to use them. When technology goes underground it becomes subversive and a classroom management headache. On Tuesday, I heard a student panel at Forsyth County Public Schools who were frustrated with the class time wasted by teachers asking students to put away their technology. Read more »
It’s not quite what you think. The disconnect is not between classroom teachers and their students but between student teachers and the future. Unleashing the Future, the Project Tomorrow report on 2009 Speak Up findings surveys aspiring teachers for the first time and finds that these digital natives are learning to integrate technology using spreadsheets and word processors. REALLY!??! Read more »
The winners of the MacArthur Digital Media and Learning Competition show a fascinating range of projects, technology tools, and locations. Reading the briefs, I’m struck that these projects focus on creating and publishing with technology, giving voice to those without mainstream media access. They are not just ways to get youth engaged in learning, but to get them engaged in their community as creative, empowered forces. What a terrific award.
Women videoblogging in India
Students worldwide collect and share data on fish populations
MetroVoice gives students a media platform on city buses
Hole-in-the-wall reaching children in the most remote communities
I attended a workshop at the American Architecture Foundation on Great Schools by Design to talk about how to design learning spaces for schools in Los Angeles and New York City. Listening to architects and school leaders talk about the actual shape and functionality of classrooms and school spaces, I realized that the architecture of the virtual learning space is as important as the physical space.
These students created a centralized web site for their school and recently won a Digital Open award, a tech expo for teens.
When we talk about school quality and achievement, we tend to get caught up in funding, teachers, textbooks, and test scores. But what do you really need to learn? An open mind? A quiet opportunity for reflection? The discipline to keep trying? Enough curiosity to ask a question?
